Tillor defends title at Warrior 50K Ultramarathon

For the second straight year, Cebu ’s ultramarathon standout Noel Tillor topped the Warrior 50K Ultramarathon held last Saturday, Sept. 29 at Be Resorts in Mactan.

Tillor emerged as the fastest runner in the 50K road ultramarathon clocking 3:48:26, a vast improvement from his previous time of 4:49:13 at the first edition of the Warrior 50K.

Call center agent Paul James Zafico placed second clocking 3:51:46 while Jieter Bada placed third in 4:25:50.

In the distaff side, Preciosa Sanchez emerged the fastest woman in 5:05:35, while Sandra Soliano (5:20:32) and Path Toremono (5:32:49) finished second and third respectively.

This year’s edition of the Warrior 50K Ultramarathon also reflected the growing number of runners flocking to races with distance beyond 42K. There were 279 official finishers this year compared to only 171 finishers in last year’s edition.

Runners at the Warrior Ultramarathon 50K followed an out and back loop starting at the Be Resorts at Barangay Punta Engano in Mactan, then to Cordova town before passing through the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, going North to Mandaue City, the towns of Consolacion, Compostela and Lilo-an then back again to Mactan via the Cansaga Bay Bridge and a second jaunt across the Marcelo Fernan Bridge.

The Warrior 50K Ultramarathon is part of the series of ultramarathon races organized by Frontrunner Magazine.

Weiss’s gambit

When the Philippine Football Federation announced the non-inclusion of brothers Phil and James Younghusband in the line-up for the four-nation Philippine Football Peace Cup, many entertained serious doubts whether the Philippines could win without the team’s highest scorer.

But after the Azkals’ string of wins starting with 1-0 vs. Guam, 5-0 vs. Macau and 3-1 vs. Chinese Taipei giving the Philippines its first football title in 99 years, Coach Michael Weiss’ gambit turned out to be a brilliant move.

The Weiss man proved that no one is indispensable and that the Azkals bench can be developed to take over and replace key star players in the team.

Speaking to ABS CBN Sport’s TJ Manotoc after last Saturday’s final game vs. Chinese Taipei, Coach Weiss, without naming the Younghusbands, said yes – we can do it without them. “Does it make sense to bring professionals who are jetlagged all the way from Europe in a 20-hour flight here? Or do we only use them in real big games when we are sure that they’ll be 100% in top condition. This group we have them 3 to 4 months together. The idea is to lure them away from their home countries, Christiaens, Wolf and Reichelt, just to mention these 3 and to build up a strong core in the Philippines for the ones who can’t be there in training, without mentioning names. I think the main point is that we are not too much relying on individual players here. We have quality players in every position so we can easily change players and the ones who come in, they can make an impact, it wasn’t like that in the past,” said Weiss over Studio 23.

Football after all is a team sport. It cannot and should not rely on just one or two or just three of its key players. It takes all of the eleven men on the pitch to win.

The Longest 1K

Last Saturday I ran the longest I kilometer of my life at the Maternity Run 2012 and emerged as the fastest pregnant woman in my category.

I was fastest not because I could run fast, but because the other pregnant runners walked the 1K-route. In my case, I found it hard to suppress hyper-competitiveness. Pregnant or not, it’s hard to suppress the urge to run when you hear the firing of the starting gun. I ran without fear even at 26 weeks and 5 days. Good thing, the baby cooperated and did not contract even on the uphill portion of the route.  I think this baby has a future on the road. “May giliwatan.”

For my efforts, I won one-month supply of maternity vitamins, supplements and a milk and a winner’s sash that says speedy mom.